ELEE1169-M02 RESEARCH, PLANNING and COMMUNICATIONS Assignment Sample

Part one 

Introduction  

Majority of organizations and businesses face multiple challenges due to pandemic of COVID 19 such as customer risk, service challenges, and strategic challenges. Authorities of many industries such as retail, food, and technology updated their strategy in order to provide appropriate services to their customers and maintain customer satisfaction. The study is going to focus on research area, research problem, justification, and scope, significance of this research, aims, and objectives. There is a requirement for an updated strategy in order to maintain work process and develop future opportunities.

Research area 

Businesses, industries, and organizations face several risks in the crisis of COVID 19 such as supply chain, consumer behaviour, and developing productivity levels of employees. The authorities of many organizations focus on accelerating digital transformation, implementing agile operations, and establishing variable structures of cost (Robinson and Kengatharan, 2020). The pandemic of COVID 19 hugely affected finance, technology, operations, workforce, customers, and strategy. The patterns of consumer demands are shifted, supply chains are effectively disrupted, governments and markets are responded uniquely due to the crisis of COVID 19. Companies had to continuously adapt to uncertain and new market conditions. Strategies play a crucial role in the development of an organization due to which the authority of organizations focuses on implementing the strategies to run their businesses smoothly on the pandemic of COVID 19.

Research problem       

In the present scenario, every industry faces several risks globally due to the crisis of COVID 19 like importation, exportation, supply chain, and customer behaviour. The Governments of several countries such as UK, US have announced lockdown, restricted holidays in order to reduce the spread of viruses (Beland et al. 2020). Therefore, the organizations were unable to provide effective services to their customers. Many organizations have transferred their offline businesses to online to provide effective customer services and improve customer satisfaction. This pandemic has affected the economy globally and businesses face losses rather than profit. Innovation of ideas and implementations of strategies plays a significant role in the development of an organization (Bhatti et al. 2020). Many authorities have updated their strategies in order to improve their services. Since employees do remote working there is a matter of communication gap.

COVID 19 has decreased productivity levels and future opportunities for many businesses. The major challenges faced by organizations are financial risks as there is a matter of economic loss worldwide due to pandemics. Management of organizations was unable to build an effective work environment as employees do their work in remote working (Hasanat et al. 2020). Employees were unable to develop their work as there is a lack of environment and communication in remote working.

Research justification 

The research work can assist businesses to identify and analyse the challenges and facts in the situation of pandemics. Every organization needs to be present in both offline and online platforms in order to increase the rate of profit and increase future opportunities. In COVID 19 situation, the major challenges faced by organizations were financial issues and supplier risk (Farzanegan et al. 2021). The research can assist businesses to focus on implementation of technologies and strategies in order to increase productivity level and reduce the impact of challenges such as strategic risk, market risk, financial risk, supplier’s risk, and quality risk. This research can be beneficial for industry and society as research outcomes can help authorities of many organizations to analyse facts of COVID 19 and value of innovative strategies to decrease the effect of COVID 19 challenges.

Research scope

The researcher will collect data of this research from secondary sources due to which there will be a lack of human perspective. The research is unable to collect information from surveys or interviews due to the pandemic of COVID 29. Information from primary sources can assist researchers to provide effective information in research and to get a positive outcome (Abouk and Heydari, 2021). In case the spread of COVID 19 is reduced, researchers can collect more relevant data from interviews and surveys in future.

Aims and objectives

Aim of this research is to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on business organizations and their respond to it.

Research objectives

• To explore and analyse the impact of COVID 19 on the development of an organization
• To identify and discuss the challenges faced by organizations due to COVID 19
• To examine the effect of innovation and implementation of strategies to reduce the impact of COVID 19 on businesses

Research significance

The outcome of the research will be beneficial for many industries and businesses such as food, groceries, and clothes. The authority of any organization can focus on implementing strategies by analysing the outcome of this research. Research results and findings can assist in developing innovative marketing strategies and strategies of customer retention by analysing needs and expectations of customers. In the present scenario, there is a requirement for appropriate hygiene and quality of products in order to maintain customer satisfaction (Ratten, 2020). Therefore, the results of this research can assist learners and authority of organizations to understand the difficulties faced by organizations due to COVID 19. The people who are willing to start their businesses can get effective ideas regarding value of strategies and types of challenges in an organization like market risk, financial risk.

Part two  

Contribution to knowledge

The study conveys that COVID 19 has a disproportionate impact on employees, interest in entrepreneurship, and mental health. Entrepreneurship plays a significant role in social and economic development, developing value and wealth. Faced with outside difficulties, pressures for business, authorities need to implement their daily routine and comfort zone to rescue the impact of COVID 19 and resolve the problem (Hernández-Sánchez et al. 2020). The crisis assists people to focus on innovative ideas in order to maintain customer satisfaction.

Shortcomings

There is a lack of discussion on business strategy that the entrepreneurs can follow to resolve the difficulties of COVID 19. Business strategy and marketing strategy are essential in order to run the business smoothly and increase future opportunities (Hernández-Sánchez et al. 2020). There is a lack of recommendations that the business leaders can follow due to the crisis of COVID 19.

Contribution to knowledge

Majority of organizations have adopted digital technology to run the business smoothly in the crisis of COVID 19. SMEs face various challenges due to the pandemic such as lack of raw materials, supply chain disruption, cash flow difficulties, restriction on interaction, and cancellation of orders (Priyono et al 2020). The study has discussed the effect of COVID 19 on SMEs effectively.

Shortcomings

The study has not discussed the future scope and effect of the pandemic on SMEs effectively. COVID 19 has affected every industry globally such as retail, food, and technology (Priyono et al 2020). The study does not effectively discuss the recommended strategies to decrease impact of COVID 19.

Contribution to knowledge

COVID 19 has affected the production of supply chain due to mobility restrictions, and various lockdown measures. The efficiency in product delivery and performance of firms became worsened due to this pandemic (Khan et al. 2021). Majority of organizations focused on online marketing to develop the rate of sales. There is a requirement to update policies on online delivery such as wearing masks, check of body temperature, use of sanitizer. Technological innovations like block chain, Internet of Things, and robotics assist firms to maintain performance.

Shortcomings

There is a deficiency of information regarding digital innovation in COVID 19 situation. Online market support firms to increase the rate of sales and maintain customer satisfaction (Khan et al. 2021). The reference consists of little data regarding the challenges faced by firms due to COVID 19.

Contribution to knowledge

COVID 19 has affected the business globally in two ways such as shutdown of corporate offices, businesses, events, financial markets, and safety in investment and consumption among investors and customers. As per the opinion of Aladejebi (2020), majority of organizations were unable to survive due to cash flow issues. The major challenge faced by organizations is deficiency of financial resources. The organizations have adopted digitalization to reduce the impact of COVID 19.

Shortcomings

The study did not discuss the survival strategies effectively that SMs can follow. As per the opinion of Aladejebi (2020), digitalization assists firms to improve services and maintain cash flow in the situation of crisis. There is a requirement of effective cost to transfer businesses on digital platforms.

Contribution to knowledge

Online marketing assists an organization to achieve competitive advantages. E-commerce technology supports firms to improve trade efficiency, active perception, and develop profit rates. It was quite difficult to build new businesses in COVID 19 situation as there is a lack of communication gap (Rezaeinejad, 2021). The production and manufacture of products become reduced due to lack of raw materials, temporary shutdown of companies. The study has discussed the effect of online marketing strategies to improve business in COVID 19 situation effectively.

Shortcomings

Online marketing helps to increase productivity and maintain activities in market. There is a lack of information on effect of COVID 19 on online businesses and recommendations that the management of online businesses can follow.  As per the opinion of Rezaeinejad (2021), business strategies assist an organization to improve services and run business smoothly. The study needs to focus on recommended strategies to develop services.

Contribution to knowledge

COVID 19 has affected the supply chain globally due to trade restrictions, sealed borders, shortages of labour force, and shutdown of transport. The supply chain management has implemented its strategies to improve services (Xu et al. 2020). The journal has discussed the effect of COVID 19 on supply chain globally by analysing GSC disruptions, distorted demands, and disrupted commodities. There is a requirement of visibility and responsiveness in the global supply chain to reduce the impact of COVID 19.

Shortcomings

The study has discussed the impact of COVID 19 on global supply chain effectively and challenges such as lack of production, transport issue, and deficiency of raw materials. Supply chain management plays a significant role in the development of an organization (Xu et al. 2020). The study did not focus on the strategies effectively to reduce the impact of challenges caused by COVID 19.

Contribution to knowledge

COVID 19 pandemic has a crucial impact on business that can be formed on five dimensions such as recovering revenue, rethinking organization, adapted marketing, accelerating digitalization, and rebuilding operations. Organizational capability, abilities to maintain knowledge m and leadership qualities assist in overcoming the challenges such as adapted marketing, accelerating digitalization (Pinzaru, and Zbuchea, 2020). The study has focused on knowledge management strategies to decrease the impact of challenges due to COVID 19.

Shortcomings

The study has discussed the impact of knowledge management to overcome the challenges caused by COVID 19. There is a requirement for effective management to understand the capabilities and knowledge of employees (Pinzaru, and Zbuchea, 2020). The study needs to focus on business strategies effectively to reduce the difficulties of supply chain, lack of materials, and production.

Contribution to knowledge

Policies and strategies are essential in order to manage the difficulties of cash flow, inappropriate supply chain, and work environment. Majority of organizations have implemented their policies to prevent infectious diseases such as usage of PPE, isolating the staff, and maintaining social distance. Control and prevention measures can be classified into three levels such as personal protective equipment, administrative control, and engineering controls (Golbabaei and Kalantari, 2020). The study has discussed workplace policies and strategies to control the impact of COVID 19.

Shortcomings

The journal needs to focus on challenges faced by workplaces due to COVID 19 such as lack of communication, and market risk. Policies and strategies play a crucial role to maintain an effective work environment (Golbabaei and Kalantari, 2020). There is a requirement of appropriate recommendations for workplaces due to COVID 19.

Contribution to knowledge

There is a matter of communication gap in workplaces due to COVID 19. The employees need to do virtual meetings to communicate themselves and understand the work process (Waizenegger et al. 2020). The study discussed that remote working and virtual meetings assist an organization to manage work processes. In remote working, employees are able to increase their productivity due to a flexible environment at home.

Shortcomings

There is a lack of information regarding the challenges faced by organizations in remote working. There is a lack of communication and employee engagement in remote working (Waizenegger et al. 2020). There is a requirement to focus on strategies and recommendations to reduce difficulties in remote working.

Contribution to knowledge

The study has discussed the implementation of COVID 19 on consumers, companies, and countries. There is a requirement of effective growth strategies and management skills to overcome the challenges in post COVID situations such as market risk, customer expectation risk (Rajan, and Salunkhe, 2021). In the situation of COVID 19, the majority of people prefer digital payments. The pandemic has an effective impact on domestic risk, developed economics, and unemployment.

Shortcomings

There is a lack of information on recommended growth strategies that management of an organization can follow. Growth strategies and management skills are essential to resolve the challenges of COVID 19 (Rajan, and Salunkhe, 2021).  This study needs to focus on the discussion to overcome the challenges of COVID 19.

Research gap

The journals needed to focus on business and marketing strategies to reduce the impact of challenges caused by COVID 19. The major challenges faced by organizations are lack of finance due to COVID 19. The journals needed to focus on organizations’ activities during pandemic situations. There is a requirement of effective recommendation the organization can follow in post-COVID 19 situations.

Part three

Data approaches and techniques

Research design

A descriptive research design will be followed in the research to complete effectively. The researcher can analyse effectively non-qualified issues and topics. As per the opinion of Atmowardoyo (2018), there are multiple advantages of descriptive research design such as being easy, cheap, and quick to conduct. Descriptive research design can assist the researcher to make decisions and focus on data analysis effectively.

Research philosophy

The researcher will follow a positivism research philosophy to get an effective result. As per the opinion of Ryan (2018), the major advantage of positivism research philosophy is a well-defined structure. The researcher can focus on the structure of the research during discussion and studies. The main elements of positivism are clear, concise, and brief discussion.

Research approach

A deductive research approach will be followed to complete the research effectively and get a positive result. As per the opinion of Pearse (2019), there are multiple stages of the deductive approach such as deducting a hypothesis, testing a hypothesis, formulating a hypothesis, examining the outcome, and modifying theory. A deductive research approach can assist the researcher to explain the relationship between variables and concepts. The researcher can measure concepts qualitatively with the use of deductive research approaches.

Data collection

The researcher will follow a secondary qualitative data collection method to provide effective formation regarding the topic. As per the opinion of Dufour and Richard (2019), secondary data collection methods rely on secondary sources such as the internet, websites, journals, articles, and books. The researcher will collect information related to research topics from Google Scholar and ProQuest.

Data analysis

In the segment of data analysis, the researcher will read and analyse all data that the researcher will collect from secondary sources. As per the opinion of Dufour and Richard (2019), data analysis plays a significant role in every research to get a positive result. Therefore, the articles, books, and journals that are going to be collected from Google scholar and ProQuest will be analysed and read by the researcher.

Research ethics

The researcher will maintain an effective level of objectivity in analysis and discussion throughout the research. As per the opinion of Brown et al. (2020), every researcher needs to follow the data protection act and privacy in every research. Since the data of this research will be collected from secondary sources, the ethics of acknowledgment will be followed in the Harvard referencing system.

Project schedule

Figure 1: Project schedule

(Source: MS Project)

The activities of the research are segmented into multiple sections such as setup project plan, literature review chapter, methodology chapter, result and discussion, submission of a proposal, and approval from tutor. As stated by Zhang and Liang (2018), effective planning of research assists in completing research within time. There will be a requirement of almost 18 months to complete the research. After completing the activity of approval from the tutor, the researcher will focus on writing up, final draft, and final submission. The researcher can focus on the project activities effectively and appropriate data analysis with project planning. Project schedule can assist the researcher to get a positive result by completing every activity appropriately.

Key deliverables

• The research outcome can assist the business organization to understand the current scenario and focusing on supply management.
• The research can help to understand the value of stakeholders and the importance of innovation in workplaces.
• Implementation of technology is essential in the workplace to improve services and maintain activities (Bartik et al. 2020). Outcome of the research can support the business authorities to understand the value of digitalization
• The research can provide a clear image of challenges faced by organizations due to COVID 19.
• The research can depict an image of strategies implemented by organizations to reduce the impact of challenges caused by COVID 19.(ELEE1169-M02 RESEARCH PLANNING and COMMUNICATIONS Assignment Sample )

Potential risks of the project

The researcher will follow a secondary data collection method to provide authentic and relevant data related to the topic. As per the opinion of Dufour and Richard (2019), there is a lack of human perception and opinion of people in secondary data collection methods. The major potential risk of the research is that researchers will be unable to understand authenticity of data in secondary sources. There can be a risk of data privacy and security due to technological error.

References

Abouk, R. and Heydari, B., 2021. The immediate effect of COVID-19 policies on social-distancing behavior in the United States. Public health reports, 136(2), pp.245-252. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0033354920976575

Aladejebi, O., 2020. Managing small businesses in Nigeria during covid-19 crisis: impact and survival strategies. IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM), 22(8), pp.24-34. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/download/64138538/Managing%20Small%20Businesses%20in%20Nigeria%20during%20Covid-19%20Crisis_Impact%20and%20Survival%20Strategies.pdf

Atmowardoyo, H., 2018. Research methods in TEFL studies: Descriptive research, case study, error analysis, and R & D. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 9(1), pp.197-204. Available at: http://academypublication.com/issues2/jltr/vol09/01/25.pdf

Bartik, A.W., Bertrand, M., Cullen, Z., Glaeser, E.L., Luca, M. and Stanton, C., 2020. The impact of COVID-19 on small business outcomes and expectations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(30), pp.17656-17666. Available at: https://www.pnas.org/content/117/30/17656.short

Beland, L.P., Fakorede, O. and Mikola, D., 2020. Short-term effect of COVID-19 on self-employed workers in Canada. Canadian Public Policy, 46(S1), pp.S66-S81. Available at: https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/cpp.2020-076

Bhatti, A., Akram, H., Basit, H.M., Khan, A.U., Raza, S.M. and Naqvi, M.B., 2020. E-commerce trends during COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Future Generation Communication and Networking, 13(2), pp.1449-1452. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ahmed-Khan-67/publication/342736799_E-commerce_trends_during_COVID-19_Pandemic/links/5f04603c458515505091c291/E-commerce-trends-during-COVID-19-Pandemic.pdf

Brown, C., Spiro, J. and Quinton, S., 2020. The role of research ethics committees: Friend or foe in educational research? An exploratory study. British Educational Research Journal, 46(4), pp.747-769. Available at: https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/berj.3654

Dufour, I.F. and Richard, M.C., 2019. Theorizing from secondary qualitative data: A comparison of two data analysis methods. Cogent Education, 6(1), p.1690265. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/2331186X.2019.1690265

Farzanegan, M.R., Gholipour, H.F., Feizi, M., Nunkoo, R. and Andargoli, A.E., 2021. International tourism and outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19): A cross-country analysis. Journal of Travel Research, 60(3), pp.687-692. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0047287520931593

Golbabaei, F. and Kalantari, S., 2020. A Review of the Strategies and Policies for the Prevention and Control of the COVID-19 at Workplaces. International Journal of Occupational Hygiene, 12(1), pp.60-65. Available at: https://ijoh.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijoh/article/view/443

Hasanat, M.W., Hoque, A., Shikha, F.A., Anwar, M., Hamid, A.B.A. and Tat, H.H., 2020. The impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on e-business in Malaysia. Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 3(1), pp.85-90. Available at: https://asianjournal.org/online/index.php/ajms/article/view/219

Hernández-Sánchez, B.R., Cardella, G.M. and Sánchez-García, J.C., 2020. Psychological factors that lessen the impact of covid-19 on the self-employment intention of business administration and economics’ students from latin america. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(15), p.5293. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/776518

Khan, S.A.R., Ponce, P., Tanveer, M., Aguirre-Padilla, N., Mahmood, H. and Shah, S.A.A., 2021. Technological innovation and circular economy practices: Business strategies to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. Sustainability, 13(15), p.8479. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/15/8479

Pearse, N., 2019. An illustration of a deductive pattern matching procedure in qualitative leadership research. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 17(3), pp.pp143-154. Available at: https://academic-publishing.org/index.php/ejbrm/article/view/1398

Pinzaru, F. and Zbuchea, A., 2020. Adapting Knowledge Management Strategies in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic. A Preliminary Overview. In Proceedings of the 14th International Management Conference “Managing Sustainable Organizations” 5th–6th November 2020, Bucharest, Romania (pp. 307-318). Available at: http://conferinta.management.ase.ro/archives/2020/PDF/2_7.pdf

Priyono, A., Moin, A. and Putri, V.N.A.O., 2020. Identifying digital transformation paths in the business model of SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 6(4), p.104. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/846850

Rajan, B. and Salunkhe, U., 2021. Management Skills and Growth Strategies in a Post-Pandemic World. Transnational Marketing Journal, 9(2), pp.181-193. Available at: https://www.ceeol.com/content-files/document-1013276.pdf

Ratten, V., 2020. Coronavirus (covid-19) and entrepreneurship: changing life and work landscape. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 32(5), pp.503-516. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08276331.2020.1790167

Rezaeinejad, I., 2021. Impact Online Marketing Strategies on Improving the Status of Businesses in the COVID-19 Situation in Iran. Asian Basic and Applied Research Journal, pp.24-33. Available at: https://www.globalpresshub.com/index.php/ABAARJ/article/view/1281

Robinson, J. and Kengatharan, N., 2020. Exploring the effect of Covid-19 on small and medium enterprises: Early evidence from Sri Lanka. Journal of Applied Economics & Business Research, 10(2), pp.115-124. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kengatharan-Navaneethakrishnan/publication/348136545_Exploring_the_effect_of_Covid-19_on_Small_and_Medium_Enterprises_Early_Evidence_from_Sri_Lanka/links/5fefc2d145851553a010f31d/Exploring-the-effect-of-Covid-19-on-Small-and-Medium-Enterprises-Early-Evidence-from-Sri-Lanka.pdf

Ryan, G., 2018. Introduction to positivism, interpretivism and critical theory. Nurse researcher, 25(4), pp.41-49. Available at: http://oro.open.ac.uk/49591/

Waizenegger, L., McKenna, B., Cai, W. and Bendz, T., 2020. An affordance perspective of team collaboration and enforced working from home during COVID-19. European Journal of Information Systems, 29(4), pp.429-442. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0960085X.2020.1800417

Xu, Z., Elomri, A., Kerbache, L. and El Omri, A., 2020. Impacts of COVID-19 on global supply chains: facts and perspectives. IEEE Engineering Management Review, 48(3), pp.153-166. Available at: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9174793/

Zhang, S. and Liang, C., 2018. Research on Construction Schedule Control Based on Critical Chain Method and BIM. Journal of Applied Science and Engineering Innovation, 5(2), pp.47-50. Available at: http://jasei.org/PDF/5-2/5-47-50.pdf

Assignment Services Unique Submission Offers: